Monday, February 20, 2017

I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.

The grand chief launched a fight for aboriginal rights after being charged with illegal hunting in the 1920s, but the courts of the era dismissed the notion that a 1752 treaty gave Sylliboy any rights.

It would take another six decades before those rights were recognized by the courts.

On March 25, 1917, the black soldiers of No. 2 Construction Battalion left Halifax for Europe to serve in a non-combat labour unit. To mark the anniversary of the unit's departure, the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 teamed up with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia to create the temporary exhibit called No. 2 Construction Battalion. It opens Thursday and runs till May 1.

Nancy Allen was struck by a wave a curiosity when she looked into a freshly dug hole in her lawn. Down near her sewer line were dozens of objects covered in years worth of muck and dirt — she wasn't sure what they were, but she wanted a closer look.

On a recent visit to her former Notre Dame convent, Sister Elizabeth Dunn surveys the dramatic transformation that’s under way here at the cherished downtown landmark.

Sold to developers in 2014 and midway through a $9-million renovation, the 19th-century heritage building is set to open this spring as a luxury boutique inn and apartment suites in the heart of Prince Edward Island’s capital.

To mark Montreal's 375th anniversary, Sun Life Financial and the McCord Museum are partnering to give everyone a chance to experience "Our Amazing Families: Three Centuries of Quebec Documents and History", a textual records holding enhancement project that will spotlight the economic, social and family history of Quebec.

When Private Henry Agassiz signed up to serve in The Great War in 1916, his proud portrait joined those of more than 2,200 of his fellow enlistees from T. Eaton Company’s Toronto store on the flagship’s walls.

For “Downton Abbey” fans, Highclere Castle remains a lasting reminder of the popular British television drama and the Crawley family’s struggle to adapt to a rapidly changing world of telephones, gramophones and women’s rights.

But for Canadians, the Victorian country house may have been the setting of a historic meeting that altered the course of Canada’s history.

The Lakehead University Student Union-Orillia presents Black History Month: Shades of Resistance, a period dedicated to celebrating and highlighting black students and black folks within Lakehead and the community at large.

When Camille and Roger Dundas launched ByBlacks.com, they wanted to provide a platform for celebrating Black Canadian history, and to amplify the stories of Black Canadians' contributions to their communities.

On April 30, 1910, Manitoba Conservative MP William J. Roche stood in the House of Commons and asked Interior Minister Frank Oliver whether he had ever given “serious consideration” to the idea of “permitting ladies … the privilege of homesteading.”

A special commemorative exhibition, From Vimy to Juno: Canada in France 1914-45, opened Jan. 27 at the Okanagan Military Museum.

This national travelling exhibition explores the connections between defining moments in Canadian history and the experiences of Canadians who fought in both world wars. From Vimy to Juno was developed by the Juno Beach Centre, Canada’s only museum on the D-Day Landing beaches in Normandy, France.

Canada Stories this Week

Update on the Digitization of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Personnel Service Files

This past week there was more good news from the Library and Archives Canada in that 404,164 of 640,000 files are now available online.

The latest box digitized is Box 6831 and last name McGee.

Please check the database regularly for new additions and if you still have questions after checking the database, you may contact us directly at 1-866-578-7777 for more assistance.

Monday, January 9, 2017

I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.

This Week in Canadian History

Ice Storm 1998

05 January 1998 - The Ice Storm of 1998, caused by El Niño, hit southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and a number of deaths.

(That day will live with me forever. I was awoken in the early morning by our dog to hear crashing noises as transformers blew. I went to the front door, and the sky was lit up by by the lights as the power went off, and the days of unrelenting freezing rain continued. We were without power for four days. And we went under another freezing rain alert again this past week and lost more limbs off of trees once again, including a big branch from our beautiful giant Fir.)

On Saturday, June 14, 1919 British Royal Air Force officers Arthur Whitten Brown and John Alcock took off from a bumpy field in St. John’s, Newfoundland and soared into history as the first to fly the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. The takeoff site was christened “Lester’s Field” by Brown for the family that owned the property.

CFTA Tantramar Community Radio and the Tantramar Radio Players are taking to the airwaves to present The 1867 News. The show will begin later this month and feature daily newscasts from 150 years ago, when Canadians were preparing to enter into the federation known as Canada.

A Canada 150 project from Annapolis Royal, N.S., weaving the rich history of the region into a traditional Scottish tartan has a Cochrane connection.

Kimberly Gunn, who lived in Cochrane for 10 years before moving to Nova Scotia five years ago, has a strong link to the community. She and her husband come back to visit as often as they can, were bagpipers in the Cochrane Pipe Band, and Gunn continues to publish the Cochrane Visitors' Guide.

For most of Montreal’s long history, it was far different. Winter ice made the river impassable to sailing ships at least from mid-December to mid-April, and the advent of more powerful steam-driven ships in the middle of the 19th century didn’t extend the season by much.

On Jan. 6, 1847, Bonsecours Market still was not finished. Sharp eyes could see workers’ tools and supplies lying about. The police station in one of the building’s wings and the weighing station in the other — “superseding the wretched looking place now occupied for that purpose,” as the Gazette put it — were far from complete.

Have you ever dreamed of being the sheriff of an old-timey frontier town? Perhaps you’re looking for a place to hitch your wagon? Or maybe you just wished you lived like a pioneer? Well, for the tidy sum of $2.8 million, you can turn those fantasies into reality in southern Quebec.

From the beaver and the moose to poutine and maple syrup, Canadian symbols will be on display at Museum London next week in preparation for the country's 150th birthday celebration.

The museum collected a host of artifacts, images and artwork that have become known as symbols of Canada's national identity, according to Amber Lloydlangston, the museum's curator of regional history.

It was a construction crew working on a hospital expansion that first came across human remains in 2010 near the pastoral French town of Vendin-le-Vieil — remains that would later prove to be those of an unknown Canadian soldier.

Over the six years that followed, the remains of 18 more missing Canadians would be found in the same area, either in small groups or alone where they fell nearly a century earlier.

They were called "Eskimo," "half-breed" or "squaw." The collection of photos of Indigenous people in the collections of Library and Archives Canada extends into the thousands — but often the Indigenous people in the photographs were not named, just labelled with words that sound offensive to modern ears.

It started out as a typical day for Charles Gowen, a heavy-equipment operator at the Saskatoon landfill. It was his job to scrape away dirt from a borrow pit and layer it over the trash.

But on Sept. 1, 1977, when his grader had dug down about a metre, Gowen noticed that the colour of the soil was much darker, not its normal light sandy brown. Stopping to take a closer look, he found bone fragments and other organic material.

I found that The Genealogy Weekly January 4 2017 from Boston has in its weekly survey resolutions for 2017, and the most popular was organizing research papers, files, and photographs; followed closely by sharing genealogical information with other members of my by family, and sharing family history with our younger generations of my family.

That sounds familiar, doesn't it? I wonder what the success rate will be?

Something new at the Library and Archives Canada

I received a blog post from the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) entitled Introducing LAC’s guest curator blog series and our upcoming exhibition!

They tell us to watch the LAC website at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/Pages/home.aspx because there will be new and exciting blog articles, and upcoming exhibition - Canada: Who Do We Think We Are? And this is in recognition of the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation.

The exhibition opens on June 1, 2017, while the year-long blog series starts in January 2017.

The blog says that we will hear from the staff who helped develop the exhibition, including anecdotes about their work at LAC. The series also includes articles by scholars, experts and ordinary Canadians, who all depend upon LAC’s collection, from across Canada—and even the other side of the globe!

Visiting the exhibition

And be sure to visit the physical exhibition in downtown Ottawa where you can see these, and many other Canadian treasures, in person. Canada: Who Do We Think We Are? will be on display free of charge at the LAC headquarters at 395 Wellington Street between June 1, 2017, and March 1, 2018.

Monday, September 29, 2014

I have come across the following Canadian websites, social media items, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.

History Week in Canada

In 1780, Benedict Arnold escaped one day after his treason came to light in what was to become the United States. Arnold, a major-general, and commander of the American Fort West Point, had planned to surrender the fort to the British. He became a colonel in the British army, and later lived in Saint John, New Brunswick. He then returned to England, where he died in 1801.

Quebec

The Treaty of Paris is in townhttp://www.lifeinquebec.com/the-treaty-of-paris-is-in-town-10088/Quebec City (Quebec) 23 September, 2014 – The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years’ War between France Britain and Spain. The actual treaty, that was signed on February 10, 1763, is on display at the Musée de la Civilisation starting today, September 23 until October 2nd.

AlbertaCan we save McKay Avenue School? Or is our history doomed to be history?http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/category/edmonton-commons/McKay Avenue School, built in 1904, also played host to Alberta’s first legislative assemblies. Today, it’s a school museum, and on the endanger list to be torn down.

Native tribes from the U.S. and Canada signed a treaty Tuesday establishing an inter-tribal alliance to restore bison to areas of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains where millions of the animals once roamed.

Story of the Week

In years gone by, I used to go to a society’s website to see what was new with the organization, as well as its events, latest publications, and their yearly executive.

There was so many changes I used to highlight it on my old news summary every week, and later, the Canadian Week in Review, but as time marched on, websites became less and less important, while on the other hand, the Member’s-Only webpages in the majority of a society’s website were becoming more important.

Then, about three years ago or so, the use of blogs by societies became the go-to media of choice for societies. But blogs quickly went out of style, mainly because they needed someone to look after them as people naturally graduated toward them. They needed someone to update them on a daily basis, and it became a hard job to find somebody within the society to take on that responsibility. And then Facebook came into the picture!

In a way, Facebook is their saving grace, because it can do everything that a webpage can do, plus it can add photos, videos, and other people can quickly comment on the posting, so it’s an "everybody" page. People have a feeling that the society belongs to them; whereas, the webpages and even blogs seemed somewhat distant, and there has to be a reason why only about 10% of the genealogy audience reads blogs, while as many as 70% read Facebook to see what is going on (according to a recent survey).

And now Google+ is making inroads on Facebook, although I believe that people are so used to Facebook now, it will be difficult to switch over to Google+. Most of the genealogists I know use Goggle+, along with a combination of Facebook, and yes, even blogs to keep up the date on genealogy news. And with the acquisition of YouTube, and video "Hang Outs", where you can actually listen to a person or people talk about one's favourite subject – Genealogy – it makes for a good combination.

So that is where I see genealogy going these days, until a new idea comes along.

How about you? Have you found that genealogy is cha

nging the way they get their word across to people? What have you experienced?

Let me know your thoughts, and I might post them in a future issue of CWR!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Family History Centre at 550 Sangster Blvd. in Regina has recently undergone a “high-tech barn raising” to help individuals and groups succeed in their genealogical research efforts. Here are some of the changes we have made:

• New Computers: We recently set up four new Dell Optiplex 9010 AIO computers. With 4 GB of RAM and i5 processors, these machines offer considerably more speed and shorter processing times than their predecessors.

• New Printers: We have installed two new printers: a Lexmark E460dn and a Lexmark X466de. The X466de is a multifunction unit with copy, scan, fax and printing capabilities.

• New Software: Every Family History Centre computer now has a large selection of genealogy software including Roots Magic, PAF Companion, Ancestral Quest and Legacy Family Tree. For more details, see www.familysearch.org/products and the attached spreadsheet. The software provides new ways of organizing family information and enables the generation of a wide variety of reports including pedigree charts, family group sheets, relationship charts, wall charts and timeline charts.

• New Inventory List: For the first time, the FHC has published an electronic catalogue of its inventory including more than 1500 in-stock microfilms, 100 books and 150 maps.

• Premium Websites: The Family History Centre provides researchers with free access to a wide range of genealogy research websites that make it possible to search for an ancestor by typing in a name. Available sites include Ancestry, Find My Past, Heritage Quest and World Vital Records.

• Family Tree Training: In conjunction with the recent release of the New FamilySearch and Family Tree to the public, the Family History Centre offers its patrons free training on the use of these websites.

• Microfilm Ordering: Family History Centre patrons have access to the world’s largest collection of microfilms and microfiche. Films can be ordered online at https://familysearch.org/catalog-search Both 60 day & permanent loans are available.

The Family History Centre is open on Tuesdays from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM and on Thursdays from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM. The Centre closes at 12:00 PM on Thursdays in July and August.

As always, Family History Centre staff offer one-on-one assistance to individuals pursuing their own genealogical research.

GenWeg Canada recognizes the following people, who do this work for free. They are Flora Stewart, Patricia Green and Julia Adamson for their help indexing. Flora Stewart, George Fedyck, Gloria MacDonald, Gordon Neish, Linda Doran, Patricia Green, Roy Hermanson, and Wayne Sys for photos.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Library and Archives Canada has just released this piece of news –

“In 1916, the Canadian government enumerated, for the second time, the Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) in order to track the high rates of population growth in western Canada.

Previously, users could search only by geographical information such as province, district and sub-district. It is now possible to also search by nominal information such as name, given name(s) and age for an individual.

Previously, users could search only by geographical information such as province, district and sub-district. It is now possible to also search by nominal information such as name, given name(s) and age for an individual”.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

On January 26th 2013, the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada will hold a meeting at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market where the City of Saskatoon will start a master plan for the North Downtown area, and they want to hear what your thoughts and comments are.

The session runs from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. The City wants to design a new neighbourhood that is: environmentally friendly, well-connected to the things you need to meet your daily needs, easy to walk around in, celebrates the city’s heritage, built around amenities like green public spaces, and a vibrant and great place to live.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

I did not know it, but February was Library Lover’s Month! And the Yorkton Public Library in Yorkton, Saskatcewan, http://ypllibrary.wordpress.com/, recently had a flood at their location. They renovated their location, and rededicated their library.

One area where there is particular pride is a new multi-use room, currently unnamed, which has a fireplace and is designed to encourage people to "sit down and read." The room, established in honor of Bob Ribchester, a former board member, also houses materials from the Yorkton Chapter of the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society www.parkland.lib.sk.ca/genealogy.htm. The space represents the library’s ideal of becoming a "third space", a place other than home and work where people come to spend time and are comfortable.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Marc-Amable Girard (1822–1892) was the second Premier of the Western Canadian province of Manitoba, and the first Franco-Manitoban to hold that post.

There are lots of French-Canadian societies in Quebec, but did you know that there are French-Canadian societies in other parts of Canada? French-Canadians—as they expanded westward across Canada—settled in villages, towns, and cities in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Ontario

In the 2006 Canadian census, there were 488,815 French-Canadians in Ontario. They make up 4.1 per cent of the province's total population.

They are mainly concentrated in Eastern Ontario (in the cities of Ottawa, Cornwall, and towns in-between), Northeastern Ontario (in the cities of Sudbury, North Bay, and Timmins), and in Toronto, Windsor, Penetanguishene, and Welland.

There is Le Réseau du patrimoine franco-ontarien (RPFO) at http://rpfo.ca. This is a collection of over 30 French-Canadian societies in Ontario. Some sites are bilingual(F/E), while others are strictly in French, but they all have good information.

Manotiba

The majority of Franco-Manitobans (about 90%) live in the Greater Winnipeg area. There are Franco-Manitoban centres in Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, St. Claude, St. Pierre-Jolys, Ste. Anne, Ste. Rose du Lac, La Broquerie, Lorette, St. Laurent, Somerset, and St-Lazare.

The Manitoba Genealogical Societywww.mbgenealogy.com covers all linguist groups in the province.

There is also The Manitoba Historical Society at www.mhs.mb.ca, and the Centre du patrimoine, Société historique de Saint-Boniface at http://shsb.mb.ca in which you can access the library database (in French), and the Voyageur contracts database (in French).

Saskatchewan

French-Canadians make up about 2 per cent of the population of Saskatchewan, and live in the cities of Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and Moose Jaw. They also live in small towns such as Gravelbourg, Albertville, Duck Lake, Ponteix, Zenon Park, and Bellegarde.

Saskatchewan Genealogical Societywww.saskgenealogy.com This society has 20 branches throughout the province, and covers the many peoples (including the French-Canadians) who settled there. Also, check La Société historique de la Saskatchewan at www.societehisto.com They have many published books such as La trace des pionniers, and offer a quarterly journal.

Alberta

The French-Canadians are centered in the Bonnie Doon area of Edmonton, in the towns of Bonnyville, Plamondon, and St. Paul in the northeast, and in the settlements of St. Isidore and the Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, including the towns of Falher, Donnelly, McLennan, and Girouxville, as well as in north-central Alberta.

La Société généalogique du Nord-Ouestwww.sgno.ca is located in Edmonton, and they have been a society since 1991. They have a very inclusive research library.

Change of Name Index - index of individuals who changed their name and are listed in the Saskatchewan Gazette from 1971 to 1950

RCMP Obituary Index - index of name as well as the source for the obituary

NW Rebellion War Claims Index - the names of those who requested compensation after the 1885 NW Rebellion.

Rural Municipalities Historical Documents Index - an index that will list documents held by municipalities - such as tax assessment rolls.

Plus, the Saskatchewan Genealogical Society and the Ontario Genealogical Society www.ogs.on.ca also have joined in offering a $5.00 discount in membership fees for 2009!http://www.saskgenealogy.com/aboutsgs/Value_Added.htm

If you want to become a volunteer, you can start right away by registering online at <familysearchindexing.org>, by downloading the free indexing software, and selecting the 1916 Canada Census project.

It will take about 30 minutes to finish one page of the census, and the volunteer has one week to finish it, if need be.

"The 1916 census was selected first because it is the most recent and smallest of the three census targeted in the first place. It included three of the western provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Alberta), and has about 1.7-million names - so it will not take long to complete," said Stephen Young, FamilySearch Project Manager.

It is interesting that they have picked three personalities known to people, that is; Arthur Gordon Kelly (Art Linkletter), Sir William Samuel Stephenson (real-life inspiration for James Bond), and Elvina Fay Wray (Fay Wray) who appeared in the 1916 census as example of people you can meet along the way to indexing the census - to make it more interesting to transcribe, I suppose.

The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) owns, and is providing the digital images for, the Canada Census Project.

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Looking for someone who came to the United States from Canada, or went to Canada from the U.S., the U.K., or Europe?

I specialize in cross-border migration, and offer many options in finding your family.

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Booklet #1 - The War of 1812: Canada and the United States

The booklet, “The War of 1812: Canada and the United States”, gives a synopsis of the causes of the War, and details the battles that took place (who, where, and when), and which included British forces, Blacks, and Aboriginal warriors who fought on both sides of the conflict.

Booklet #2 – Migration: Canada and the United States

These headings offer good examples of those who came to Canada, or of Canadians who left for the U.S, and why. The booklet gives a synopsis of what records to look for, the books written on the subject, where to find online resources, and a bonus list of some famous Canadians who migrated to the U.S.